IBOGIRLLIVING

 DAY 6: PRAY AGAINST THE IDOL OF SIN & PLEASURE

ANCHOR SCRIPTURE: COLOSSIANS 3: 5-6

Culture today loves for you and I to idolize sin and pleasure. It wants us to scream in support of the arrogant mean girl who puts other women down because she's more fun or great for TV. It wants us to regard sexual immorality as not a sin because 'it's your body' and 'you can do what you want with it'. Sin and Pleasure are the biggest idols of modern day but the very ones that Satan would have you and I believe is nothing but harmless fun and 'vibes'.

All anyone needs to do is look around to see just how deep depravity and debauchery have eaten into society and how trivial the topic of sin has become. The lines between what is sinful and what's not have gotten so blurred and skewed that we are unable to tell that it has become an idol in most of our lives. It's almost as though any and all things are acceptable these days and if you are not actively participating or God Forbid, being openly critical of ungodly lifestyles and behavior, then you must be a miserable unhappy troll who is discontent with your own life.

If we call ourselves Believers (not just mere Christians), then there is absolutely a standard to be adhered to. That standard is and will always be JESUS. Anything less than Him or that shifts our focus away from Him is tantamount to Idolatry.

Question: What Sinful Pleasures Are Currently Being Idolized In Your Life?

Sin is often disguised in pleasure and the enemy is aware that this is how he would be able to lure God's people away from Him. We have become so pre-occupied with having fun and doing what 'feels' good that nobody has stopped to consider if these kinds of 'fun' we are having are acceptable before God. Satan wants us to believe that God is a party pooper and does not want us to enjoy life. If he could trick Eve in the very place that was the complete expression of God's love by telling her if she ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then she would not die; lying to her that God just did not want man to be as wise as He was (see Genesis 3: 4-6), why would we not feel that he could trick us in the same ways? Eve's desire to 'enjoy' what she thought God was depriving her of caused sin and separation from the Father. It's the same trick the enemy uses today - lie to you that sin isn't sin at all and that there's nothing wrong with having a little fun. His goal is always to de-sensitize us to sin so he can separate us from the love and protection of the Father and thus become condemned as he is. But may that never be yours or my portion in Jesus' Name. Amen!

Our anchor scripture tells us to "put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within us. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires. Don't be greedy for a greedy person is an idolater; worshipping the things of this world..." I believe that God wants us to confront and reject the temptation to sin the way David confronted and killed Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:45-47 is the exact approach we should have with the sins and pleasures of this world. 

There is no temptation that God has not empowered us to escape and there is no temptation so great that others have not encountered before (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). Most times we know what to do and how to flee these temptations but because our relationship with God is so weak and we do not spend enough time in His presence to receive the strength we need, we are overwhelmed by these sins that so easily ensnare us. My prayer for both you and I is that we would make God our priority every day all day so we can receive what we need to fight against the idol of sin and pleasure because the truth is that this and all other idols we have looked at this past week are all battling for our worship and reverence. Only God can deliver us and that's why fasting is so important. Some spiritual attacks require us to be spiritually sensitive and equipped otherwise, against them we would always fail.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, I thank you because I know that whenever I call on You, You always hear me. This day, I repent from making sin and the pleasures of this world my idol. Let Your Holy Spirit transform and renew my relationship with You so that I can give you the reverence and praise due to You alone. I recognize that on my own I have no strength to walk away from giving my worship to sin so help me Holy Spirit to do so boldly in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. Amen.

💓💓

Ibogirl